Third investor backs NYX Gaming takeover by Sci Games

A third minority shareholder in Canada-listed sports betting firm NYX Gaming Group Ltd has reportedly flagged its support for acquisition of the latter by casino equipment and lottery services provider Scientific Games Corp.

NYX Gaming and Scientific Games said in a joint Friday press release that Sky Betting and Gaming Ltd, a U.K.-based sports betting business operating under the SkyBet brand, had agreed to support Scientific Games’ offer of CAD2.40 (US$1.867) per NYX Gaming ordinary share.

The release said Sky Betting and Gaming currently owned 1,648,000 ordinary shares of NYX Gaming, and 412,000 warrants and 37,400 convertible preference shares of an NYX Gaming subsidiary.

“We believe that the acquisition of NYX by Scientific Games delivers great value for us as a shareholder in NYX, and we look forward to continuing to work with a combined Scientific Games and NYX as more jurisdictions around the world look to legalise sports betting and online gaming,” said Sky Betting and Gaming chief executive Richard Flint in a prepared statement in Friday’s release.

The same document said two proxy advisory firms – Institutional Shareholder Services Inc and Glass Lewis and Co – recommended that NYX Gaming shareholders vote on December 20 to approve the acquisition by Scientific Games.

The news in the joint release came only two days after a press release from Scientific Games said two other NYX Gaming shareholders – including another British betting brand, the William Hill group, which had been in litigation with NYX Gaming in the U.S. courts about the proposed deal – had agreed to support the acquisition.

In September Scientific Games had said it wanted to expand its existing digital gaming and online gambling portfolio by buying NYX Gaming for approximately CAD775 million, including debt.